The Adelaide 36ers have offered a glimpse of what they are capable of under interim coach Scott Ninnis but Melbourne United counterpart Dean Vickerman isn’t too concerned despite two losses in a week to bottom-three NBL opponents.
Whether it was the motivation from a record home crowd of 9564, the celebration of the 1998-99 championship team, the desire to make a statement against the runaway league leaders, or Melbourne being tired, it all brought the best out in the 36ers.
The Sixers' big three fired in the 100-96 win too with DJ Vasiljevic scoring 15 points in the opening quarter on his way to 30.
Former Melbourne centre Isaac Humphries had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Trey Kell III 24 points, 10 boards and five assists.
That trio lifted the Sixers to the win but the defensive efforts of Sunday Dech on Melbourne captain Chris Goulding, and some crucial late minutes from 384-game veteran Jason Cadee were also telling.
Ninnis is in his second stint coaching the 36ers with the club Hall of Famer the only man involved in all four championships, whether as player or coach.
He was delighted for his players to get reward for their effort.
"It gives us a bit of belief now, absolutely, and this crowd, they just keep coming out and out," Ninnis said.
"That's our third sellout in a row and especially when we haven’t been performing well, they continue to come out to support us and you can just feel the energy in the stadium, and the lift they gave us when good things happen."
Melbourne remain clear on top of the table at 15-5 ahead of the second-placed Perth Wildcats at 11-7, but United have now lost to Adelaide and Cairns on the road over the past week.
United still have four more away matches before returning home on February 3, starting on Friday against the New Zealand Breakers.
Melbourne should regain Luke Travers for that game while Vickerman will try to pick some positives out of their fifth loss of the season, especially Tanner Krebs' career-best 23 points.
"There's something in that fightback we can take and there were different combinations we tried on the court, and we did some really good things to give ourselves a chance," Vickerman said.
"But at the end of the day, it's a double road trip and we really enjoyed the way that we played in Sydney, and we thought that would carry though, but you could see a little bit of fatigue.
"That's how it's going to be when you're on the road for a month. We just have to be better in the way that we prepare guys and take care of people, and make sure we're 100 per cent for every game."
